Category: photography

Hello! I have some cool news to share with you guys~ Project City X Isolation will be in Issue Three of Femini Mag!! That’s why I’ve been stalling uploading all my photographs but I can tell you guys now that issue three is available to preorder here. I’m very excited and happy to tell you guys.

I’ve had a creative block for a while after and I am trying to simplify everything in my life right now to be able to focus more on my art/design. I have suspended my university studies and it was the best decision I’ve ever made for myself. It was not the right course for me and I am taking time out to work freely and not have stresses of finishing essays (I’m not an essay kind of person).

I’m taking this time out of studies as an opportunity to work on myself and my creative journey! I definitely have a plan to do short courses later this year and will update this blog with what I’m up to!

Alright enough talking here are a couple more photographs for Project City X Isolation.

Enjoy~

Puppet: n.a movable model of a person or animal that is typically moved either by strings controlled from above or by a hand inside it.

Absent: a. not present in a place, at an occasion, or as part of something.

(of an expression or manner) showing that someone is not paying attention to what is being said or done.

Affinity: n. a natural liking for and understanding of someone or something.

‘Out of Touch’ March 2017

you can’t navigate through your life if you can’t even hear your own voice. – Yumi Koco

I’ll be releasing a picture a day to keep this blog up to date and to make sure that I’m being consistent. I have a reason for not posting everything on here (I’ll let you in the next post) but for now I’m planning to release these images once a day! I don’t to keep you waiting for too long.

‘Refuse to Face It’ March 2017

Isolation: n. the process or fact of isolating or being isolated.

Disconnected:(of a person) lacking contact with reality.

“Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Living in London there are times when there’s so much going on and there’s not a lot of time to slow down to appreciate the things surrounding us. Making real connections with people in general and the people we love.

Often we get distracted by our mobile phones and social media being not so social. It can be a bad habit and a distraction when spending time with others. This endless cycle of needing to update or keep track of our social media platforms can be very unhealthy if we let it keep us from living in reality. I’ve had moments where I just wanted to get rid of my own phone. Maybe our phones which original purpose was to make people connected when apart is making us feel disconnected and apart. We’ve changed the purpose and meaning of our phones. It has become a gift but also a curse. Some of us are dependent on our phones and feel “lost” without it. We’re attached to the thing that can sometimes keep us detached from others.

We upload our instagrams, facebook status and text through whatsapp but does that mean anything? I personally can’t remember the things I say on these platforms and there’s no memories attached to these things I post. I can’t recall the conversations I’ve had on whatsapp two days ago but can remember a conversation from years ago I had with a friend face to face. Yet we have these stored away digitally and the act of deleting a picture, account or conversation can be hard for many people.

There’s also a good side to our mobile phones is that we can keep in contact with our loved ones if they’re in a different country for long term. It can keep us connected to them in a way but sometimes that is not enough to keep the feeling of loneliness away. Maybe for a few minutes/hours but when the phone call or face time ends we are faced with nothing but what we’re surrounded by.

*Disclaimer – the photograph is original taken by me and the text in the photograph is original. I am not releasing all the photographs from this series on this blog yet because I don’t know if I can but here’s one of them!*

melancholy

noun – a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause.

bittersweet;

adjective – both pleasant and painful/regretful

During the past year I have been surrounded by people, work colleagues and friends from different countries and they would tell me their stories. Often they’re stuck in-between feeling homesick but also loving their new environment (London). I’ve met some really interesting people because of this, just listening to all their anecdotes makes me want to travel right then and there and it creates a bittersweet feeling. These stories have helped me in ways I never thought could do and has touched my heart in a way which is indescribable.

There’s one person (whom I shall not name) I’ve been really inspired by and has completely touched my heart with their stories and just their self expression is so beautiful to witness. They often feel like there is no one in this country that they can truly rely on and be protected by but they enjoy the freedom they have here in London. Even though they may feel all this loneliness and sadness from time to time there are moments that would have never happened, if they never left their home.

This photograph that I took has been inspired by this person and I wanted to capture this because it reminded me of how life is unpredictable. There’s a beauty to this aspect of life but also a feeling of uneasiness never knowing whats around the corner. I think that everyone can relate to the feeling of not knowing and either being worried or excited about the future. That’s was my main reason for taking this picture.

It’s not knowing what’s next but still having the courage to walk down that path or road and you can be pleasantly surprised by the things you experience. The hardest part though is just taking that risk and knowing that you will be okay no matter what happens. Good or bad.

“Maybe you had to leave in order to really miss a place; maybe you had to travel to figure out how beloved your starting point was.”
― Jodi Picoult, Handle with Care

HI! I know I know I’ve gone missing again from this blog and I’ve truly been self reflective about the type of work I’ve been producing and also the stresses of uni. BUT not all is lost I am back with new work on its way! I’ve been snapping away around London and thinking about the city and the people living here in London.

Project: City x Isolation is an idea/concept of how some or many people living in cities feel isolated and maybe even homesick (if they’re from somewhere else).

These issues are hard to not only discuss but to visualize in a way that captures its honesty and rawness. I must say that it is difficult to capture these emotions without over exaggerating it and making it too dramatic/cheesy. Taking street photography is quite challenging, trying to take shots without getting noticed, people giving me strange looks and my own safety since I usually go out alone to take shots. However, I find it extremely satisfying knowing that I can photograph the little details that people usually look over and not think twice about. I have taken a series of black and white photographs that hopefully captured these emotions as they are. These images have a little twist to them with text overlapping the images. I made my own typeface/font using illustrator and tried to create something that’s simplistic.

New mini experimental series of poetry and photography intertwined into one. For a long time I had a creative block due to feeling pressured to produce work in uni (ironic I know), but at last I have been inspired by what life has thrown me. This is the result of just creating what I feel like creating and not worrying about it being perfect or not “designy” enough.

Some of the writing is illegible in the photographs so I have captioned them! The handwriting is mine, photographs and all poetry is original by me~

Again and again you must try to forget so that you can live and not have to regret.

The sleepless city me too I never sleep in my own thoughts too deep sit sit sit in front of the screen let’s forget about everything that we’ve seen and promise forever give me a ring ring ring ring ring…

I try to blink through the storm to think would have made it rain but my eyes want to drain tears let the pain drain.

These are some of the questions I’ve been asking myself lately and I think it has a lot to do with things surrounding me changing/being new. Everything is new. The journey to university is new, the shops are new, people, buildings and new feelings. This really triggered this nagging thought of my identity and my beliefs. There was also a strong sense of loss in a way, since I felt like I’ve lost a lot of the things I kept close to my heart but a juxtaposition of new gain.

Maybe that’s the way things work , every time something subtracts there’s a plus one. I took a series of black and white photographs illustrating these thoughts and feelings. These photographs are open to different interpretations.